From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: ** X-Spam-Status: No, score=2.6 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_40,INVALID_DATE, MSGID_SHORT,REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!seas.gwu.edu!mfeldman From: mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu (Michael Feldman) Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Ada books for undergraduate computer science Message-ID: <3246@sparko.gwu.edu> Date: 1 Jun 91 21:07:21 GMT References: <3241@sparko.gwu.edu> <2322@atlas.cs.nps.navy.mil> <3244@sparko.gwu.edu> Reply-To: mfeldman@seas.gwu.edu () Organization: The George Washington University, Washington D.C. List-Id: In article srctran@world.std.com (Gregory Aharonian) writes: > > I don't know if anyone amentioned a Pascal book that is perfect for >conversion to Ada. The book is titled "Pascal: An Introduction to the Art >and Science of Programming" by Walter Savitch (@ UCSD), and published by >Benjamin Cummings. Funny you should mention Savitch. Indeed he is writing an Ada version. I believe it is due for publication in the spring of 1992. There are rumors that another Pascal best-seller, Dale/Weems, is being adapted for Ada; I have no idea of a date, but I think the project may be just getting started, so don't expect it for perhaps 18 months or so. This means that 3 of the best-selling Pascal/CS1 authors (Koffman, Savitch, Dale/Weems) are writing or co-authoring Ada adaptations. Doug Cooper has just done a Modula-2 version of "Oh! Pascal," called, would you believe, "Oh, My! Modula-2." I don't know if we'll see an Ada version of this. All this adaptation of Pascal best-sellers is a good sign, because it shows publisher confidence in the viability of the Ada market, and also the Pascal "big names" will help the Ada books get in the door. By this time next year, 2 of these will be available (Feldman/Koffman, appearing in September, currently in production) and Savitch. All these books will be good CS1, based on tried-and-true pedagogy. My guess is that the Ada community will be pleased with the Ada-ness of these books as well. None are "quickie" conversions. So much for CS1. In the CS2 area, we will have an Ada adaptation of Webre/Stubbs (from Cal Poly SLO), who've been teaching lots of Ada there, and whose Pascal and Modula-2 data structures books have done well. Also, John Beidler (Univ. of Scranton) is finishing up an Ada adaptation of his very nice M2 stuff. I think it's due soon. There's also that Feldman thing, which you can get now and which will do in a pinch :-) It would be nice to see an Ada adaptation of Dale/Lilly, too. I don't know whether this will happen, but you never know... All us authors talk to each other a lot, especially at SIGCSE meetings. We compete but we are friendly competitors. It has taken courage for publishers to dig into Ada this way - take it from one who's had many long and agonizing discussions with editors... Mike